Author: Mr. Eure
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Gestalt 101: SWOT Analysis
From Flaticon, one of many resources available to you online.
Previously: Telling your story, or at least a part of it.
The short version of this post: Use your creativity and insight to build a personal SWOT analysis for the rest of the year. Follow any of the hundreds of guides out there:
Gestalt 101: Storytelling Data
From the profile of an INFJ or Advocate.
Previously: Storytelling and LEGO bricks.
Below are carefully selected data sets for you to explore. You have discretion over how much or how little you do here. In every instance, you can do as much or as little as you like. Remember, however, that the more detail you have, the clearer the overall meaning will be.
The goal is to write part of the story about yourself. What comes together in that gestalt way when you look at these data? What emerges from the details? What picture do you see — and what are the thousand words, so to speak, that go with that picture?
Gestalt 101: Telling a Story
From the profile of an INTJ or Architect.
Previously: Rorschach ink blots.
Let’s talk about Lego bricks1 and how to tell a story.
The debate over whether to pluralize this as Legos or not is fascinating. Technically, it’s LEGO, all capital letters, and LEGO is the plural, as well. Trying to change the way people speak is difficult, however. ↩
Gestalt 101: Ink Blot Descriptions
Header image from Watchmen, selected as one of the best novels all of all time by TIME magazine.
Previously: Background notes and optical illusions.
Be sure you’ve carefully read the lecture that uses artwork and optical illusions to demonstrate how your brain processes information and creates meaning. This process is at the root of everything you learn, from the way you compile grade abatement evidence to the way you relate to a literary character to the way you make a three-dimensional cube flatten into a diamond-like shape.
Now we will look at descriptive writing, which is rarely isolated as its own mode of discourse at your age. To help, we need a visual: Rorschach inkblots.
Gestalt 101: Background Notes
Header image from Charles Allan Gilbert’s All Is Vanity (1892).
Each student enters this makerspace with a different history and different goal. Some of you love to read and write, and you look forward to improving your skills and experiencing new texts. Some of you, on the other hand, have hated English classes since you became aware of them, and you want only to escape — by climbing out the back window, maybe, if that’s what it takes.
English 11 Menu
More on menus, cooking, and other metaphors: Green Eggs and Deconstructed Ham.
Main English 11 page: 2023–2024: English 11
Note: Each set of dates below refers to a grade abatement panel, which is one-third of the triptych of grades earned each quarter.
Q1A: 9/5/23–9/26/23
English 11 Opening-Day Exercise
GAP Explication
Daily Checkpoint
Weekend Writing
Q1B: 9/27/23–10/26/23
Jan. ’23 Regents: Part 1
Jan. ’23 Regents: Part 3
Elements of Gothic Fiction
Gothic Fiction: Annotations and Analysis
Q1C: 10/19/23–11/9/23
Gothic Literature: Essential Questions
“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”
Unit Test: Owl Creek Bridge
Q2A: 11/13/23–12/1/23
Unit Test Revision and Reflection
ELA Exam Practice: Part 3 — Fiction
ELA Exam Practice: Part 3 — Nonfiction
A Raisin in the Sun: Background
A Raisin in the Sun: Silent Conversation
Q2B: 12/4/23–12/22/23
A Raisin in the Sun: Introduction Analysis
Langston Hughes, “Harlem”
Argument Background
A Raisin in the Sun: Act I
A Raisin in the Sun: Act II
A Raisin in the Sun: Act III
Q2C: 1/3/24–1/19/24
A Raisin in the Sun: Quizzes and Quick Writes
A Raisin in the Sun: Short Essays
A Raisin in the Sun: Creative RAFT Project
Q3A: 1/22/24–2/9/24
Classwork Rubicon Grades
Weekly Writing Grades: Guided Reflections
Regents Exam: Part 2 Prompt Decoding
Regents Exam: Part 2 Timed Writing
Regents Exam: Part 2 Model Annotations
Q3B: 2/26/24–3/8/24
Argument Essay: Topic Selection
Argument Essay: Claims and Thesis-Writing
Argument Essay: Evidence
Research Project: Topic Selection
Weekly Regents Exam Prep: Part 1 Multiple-Choice
Q3C: 3/11/24–4/12/24
Weekly Regents Exam Prep: Part 1 Multiple-Choice
Argument Essay: Final Draft
Research Project: Infographic
Make-Up Essays: Classwork Rubicon
Make-Up Essays: Weekly Writing
The Great Gatsby: Background Notes
The Great Gatsby: Movie
Q4A: 4/15/24–5/3/24
“The Ways We Lie” Nonfiction Analysis
The Great Gatsby: Graphic Novel
The Great Gatsby: Close Reading
The Great Gatsby: Guided Analysis
Q4B: 5/6/24–5/23/24
The Great Gatsby: Final Assessments
Personal Narratives: First Drafts
Q4C: 5/29/24–6/14/24
Personal Narratives: Final Drafts
Regents Exam Prep: Targeted Practice
Archived Menu of Choices: 2022–2023
Daily Requirement: Makerspace Forms
Daily Form: https://forms.gle/VqrawU9rH7wSjzvAA
Directions: https://tinyurl.com/23-daily-redux
Q4 Update: Read the directions carefully. Use the directions each day to complete the form. Fill out the form at the start of each class. This is a Q4 requirement.
| Required Form |
| Daily Form: 22–23 Q4 Daily Focus |
| Directions: Menu of Choices: Q4 '23 |
| Optional Forms |
| 22–23 Q4 Mindfulness Inventory |
| 22–23 Q4 Evidence Submission |
Current Unit: 2022–2023
FINAL: Q4, 2023
Previous units are archived below by month. You may also refer to the 2022–2023 Syllabus, the 2022–2023 Curriculum Map & Calendar, or the 2021–2022 Menus.
UNIT 7: APRIL, 2023
UNIT 6: MARCH*, 2023
UNIT 5: FEBRUARY, 2023
UNIT 4: JANUARY, 2023
| READING ITEMS | WRITING ITEMS |
|---|---|
| Resource Page: The Invisible Man | Curriculum: January, 2023 |
| Resource Page: Frankenstein | |
| Resource Page: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | |
| Pareto Projects: Getting Started |
UNIT 3: NOVEMBER–DECEMBER, 2022
| READING ITEMS | WRITING ITEMS |
|---|---|
| 1984 by George Orwell | Analysis: 1984 Prompt |
| Equivalent dystopian works, e.g., The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood | Novel Examination: Essential Questions |
| “The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson | Classification and Division Essay |
| Rhetorical Analysis for Emulation | |
| "Learning to Lie” by Po Bronson | Short Personal Narrative Response |
| “Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus” by Francis Church | Responsive Analysis and Discussion |
| Additional Fiction and Non-Fiction |
UNIT 2: OCTOBER, 2022
| READING ITEMS | WRITING ITEMS |
|---|---|
| Limon: Selected Poems | Poetry Inspired by Guatemalan Poets |
| Foppa: Selected Poems | |
| Universal Writing Guide | Personal Narrative Essay and/or College Essay |
| The Age of the Essay, Updated | |
| Paul Graham, "The Age of the Essay" | Guided Analysis: Graham |
UNIT 1: SEPTEMBER, 2022
More on the “Menu” Metaphor:
More on Essential Design:
Menu of Choices: 2021–2022
All Units: 2021–2022
Click Here for the 2021–2022 Course Map
Final update: 5/26/22
Final Unit: Q4C (6/1–6/10)
UNIT: FINAL PROJECTS — SENIOR TALKS & FINAL REFLECTIONS
| READING WORK | WRITING WORK |
|---|---|
| Senior Projects Overview | Senior Talks: Full Packet |
| Senior Talks | Letter to Your Younger/Older Self |
| Addressing an Audience | Final Reflections & Guided Self-Analysis |
| Late Work: READ Poster |
Previous Unit: Q4B (5/2–5/31)
UNIT: FINAL PROJECTS — SENIOR TALKS & LITERATURE PROJECTS
| READING WORK | WRITING WORK |
|---|---|
| Senior Projects Overview | Research-Driven Essay |
| Senior Talks | Senior Talks: Full Packet |
| Replacement Literature Project: Summer Reading | |
| Optional: Self-Prescribed Literature Project | Optional: Addressing an Audience |
Previous Unit: Q3C–Q4A (4/1–4/29)
UNIT: FINAL PROJECTS — RESEARCH-DRIVEN ESSAY
| READING WORK | WRITING WORK |
|---|---|
| Extended Time: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver | Extended Time: Reader's Response: Full Guide |
| April 1, 2022 | Research-Driven Essay |
| Senior Projects Overview | |
Previous Unit: Q3B–Q3C (3/1–3/31)
UNIT: EMPATHY AND ISOLATION — THE BEAN TREES
Previous Unit: Q3A (2/1–2/28)
UNIT: EMPATHY AND ISOLATION — MINI-UNIT ON SHORT FICTION
Previous Unit: Q2C (1/3–1/31)
UNIT: MORALITY AND THE INVISIBLE MAN
Previous Unit: Q1C–Q2B (11/3–12/23)
UNIT: TRUTH, LIES, AND MEMORY — WITH 1984
| READING WORK | WRITING WORK |
|---|---|
| Truth, Lies, and Memory (All Texts) | Truth, Lies, and Memory (All Tasks) |
| • George Orwell's 1984 | • Required: Literary Analysis (1984) |
| • Learning to Lie | • Optional: Short Personal Narrative |
| Learning to Lie: Paginated Copy | • Required: Learning to Lie: ¶ Responses |
| • The Ways We Lie | • Optional: Rhetorical Analysis for Emulation |
| • Required: Classification and Division Essay | |
| • Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus | • Optional: Responsive Analysis and Discussion |
| Pareto Projects: Overview | |
More on the “Menu” Metaphor:
More on Essential Design:
April 1, 2022
Aucun Poisson d’Avril
The image is a reference to the French version of April Fool’s Day. It’s more interestingly a reference to René Magritte’s painting, The Treachery of Images:
If you have heard of Magritte, it’s likely to be in relationship to that painting or The Son of Man, which is another absurdist painting of his.